Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography
Joan Crawford: The Essential Biography explores the life and career of one of Hollywood's great dames. She was a leading film personality for more than fifty years, from her beginnings as a dancer in silent films of the 1920s, to her portrayals of working-class shop girls in the Depression thirties, to her Oscar-winning performances in classic films such as Mildred Pierce. Crawford's legacy has become somewhat tarnished in the wake of her daughter Christina's memoir, Mommie Dearest, which turned her into a national joke. Today, many picture Crawford only as a wire hanger-wielding shrew rather than the personification of Hollywood glamour.
This new biography of Crawford sets the record straight, going beyond the gossip to find the truth about the legendary actress. The authors knew Crawford well and conducted scores of interviews with her and many of her friends and co-stars, including Frank Capra, George Cukor, Nicholas Ray, and Sidney Greenstreet. Far from a whitewash — Crawford was indeed a colorful and difficult character — Joan Crawford corrects many lies and tells the story of one of Hollywood's most influential stars, complete with on-set anecdotes and other movie lore.
Through extensive interviews, in-depth analysis, and evaluation of her films and performances — both successes and failures — Lawrence J. Quirk and William Schoell present Crawford's story as both an appreciation and a reevaluation of her extraordinary life and career. Filled with new interviews, Joan Crawford tells the behind-the-scenes story of the Hollywood icon. Lawrence J. Quirk is the author of many books on film, including Bob Hope: The Road Well-Traveled. William Schoell is the author of several entertainment-related books, including Martini Man: The Life of Dean Martin.
Fiche Technique
- ISBN-13 : 9780813122540
- Publisher : University Press of Kentucky
- Publication date : 28/09/2002
- Author : Lawrence J. Quirk, William Schoell, William Schoell (Joint Author)
Editorial Reviews
Library Journal
She wasn't the greatest actress of the silver screen, but was there ever a bigger star than Joan Crawford? Who else had made ten films with Gable, danced with Fred Astaire, won an Academy Award for best actress (in 1945, for Mildred Pierce), outlasted her contemporary Greta Garbo by nearly three decades-and was hardly ever in a good film? And just as she was fading from memory, she got a new lease on notoriety with the publication of adopted daughter Christina's Mommie Dearest. In a dual preface, Quirk (The Films of Joan Crawford), a personal friend of the actress, rejects much of that highly unflattering account, while Schoell (Martini Man: The Life of Dean Martin) debunks it entirely. Their study is a thoroughgoing, evenhanded review of Crawford's life and work, which in tone is neither academic nor gossipy but rather confessional, as if they are eager to set the record straight.
It should go a long way toward restoring Crawford's reputation as a hardworking professional who lived for her fans and managed to slap almost every leading man who ever played opposite her. In Sunset Boulevard, Gloria Swanson's character famously observed, "I'm still big; it's the pictures that got small." Perhaps the same could be said of Crawford. Recommended for all film collections in public and academic libraries.-Edward Cone, New York Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.
From the Publisher
"Unique in its scrupulous analysis of Crawford's entire body of work. Schoell and Quirk move beyond the myths and misconceptions to look at her film work, which in many respects was Crawford's life." — Pink Pages
"A serious study." — Richmond Times-Dispatch
"An entertaining read... especially in the scene where a persevering Quirk tries to convince the legend that gay men have a special thing about her — which she won't believe on any account." — Sight & Sound
"Joan Crawford was a sexual dynamo who used her bedroom prowess to seduce Hollywood's biggest starts — both male and female." — The Globe
"This most welcome book goes a long way toward restoring the reputation of the most glamorous star to emerge from the Hollywood dream factory." — The State (Columbia, SC)